


Be Warmed

by jjokkiri



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Coffee Shops, Crushes, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 09:01:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9228008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjokkiri/pseuds/jjokkiri
Summary: Warm, cozy coffee shops, gentle snowflakes, and the perks of being terribly awkward and falling in love.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [blue_moon_2](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/blue_moon_2) collection. 



The winter is colder than it usually is.

It’s early December; the month has barely started. The air embraced passersby on the streets with a gentle frigidity and every word leaving their lips formed puffs of smoke. There was the warm, sweet scent of peppermint wafting through the open space of the minimalist café, from the brewing cups of coffee behind the counter. Shin Hoseok, manager and everyone’s favourite barista (read: every teenage girl who walked into the café and didn’t see Hyungwon first), wiped down the glass doors of the café as he watched the afternoon sun slowly fall behind the high-rising buildings of the city. It was the rush hour after work and with his staff doing practically nothing behind the counter, he hoped people would turn their attention to the café.

It was unlikely, but there was no harm in hoping a little bit.

At this hour, work was slow despite the downtown streets of Seoul bustling with people, but Hoseok never really minded, because evenings always seemed to bring them a little more business; there was an audience which seemed to adore the days they opened up their stage to the public to perform. It gave him the time to wipe down the displays of treats and the expanses of glass across the entire establishment which had been touched by the dirty hands of children throughout the day.

It’s time to breathe a little bit and take care of the cozy café which he loved with all of his heart. Ever since dropping out of college, Hoseok had been working at the café. At first, he’d been a barista, but the owner adored him more than anything and trained him to become one of the floor managers of the café——he’s proud of the charm that got him to this point.

And he would hate to admit it to his coworkers, because favouritism was never really something to be spoken of to others, but he’d been the reason that he manager insisted that they start hosting open mics at the café, too. After finding out that he was a composition major dropout, the manager had sat him down during one of his breaks and asked him what he was doing in a place like this, when he looked like he had all the potential in the world to make it big.  

With a sad smile, Hoseok had told him that he lost the muse he had to write music and that the deadlines were driving him insane, because he needed time and freedom to write music, so there wasn’t a point to staying in school and letting an academic system push him away from the things he loved with a passion. The owner had come up with the crazy idea of opening their stage up to the public on certain days of the week——insistence that, maybe, Hoseok would find his muse in that.

Initially, the young man had aggressively refused the proposition, but he had no choice but to accept it when the owner had grinned and told him that they’d be cutting costs of inviting bands into the café for the sake of live music. That was two years ago, and the tradition seemed to keep itself. Hoseok didn’t really manage to pick up writing music, but he did enjoy the weekly shows put on by random members of the public.

He’d long lost hope in finding his muse. Accepted the fact that he wouldn’t find something like that in Seoul, and he’s already given up on his dreams of making it in the music world, anyway. He’d think that he’s too old for starting such dreams, now, anyway——his co-worker, Chae Hyungwon, would highly disagree, but it wasn’t like Hoseok ever really listened to him.

He’d worked with Hyungwon long enough to know that the younger man was nonsensical, half the time, anyway. After all, there _was_ an unspoken agreement between the two of them that Hoseok would never tell the owner that the only reason Hyungwon continued to refuse his managerial promotion was so that he could sleep in, instead of heading into work whenever Hoseok did to open up the establishment. Hoseok certainly thought that was ridiculously nonsensical.

But, with a considerate heart, Hoseok accepts it; mainly because he didn’t know what kept Hyungwon up too late to be so tired all the time. Hyungwon didn’t have classes to worry about anymore, he’d dropped out of the university down the street for the sake of random modeling jobs and helping out at the café.

“Hoseok hyung, can I sign off?” came a voice from behind him, timid. Standing on the chair and wiping down a stubborn spot on the glass, the voice startled him and he almost stumbled, before turning to look at the speaker——Lim Changkyun, one of the newer part-time baristas who attended the university down the street.

A majority of their part-time staff volunteered their open mornings and later nights to the café, because between tuition and all the textbook expenses, they needed a flexible job which would allow them a source of income——and Hoseok was always nice enough to let them pick their hours. They always had enough staff on the floor and Hoseok could cover for someone if they were caught up with a little too much work, anyway.

As a second year student, Hoseok knew as a fact that Changkyun had plenty of assignments to do, but the young man always was willing to pick up and extra shift; do his homework when the café was empty. It’s an amazing work ethic to say the least and Hoseok has a soft spot for the boy; he makes sure that he goes home with the leftover baked goods, packed into a little baggy if they have any.

“Didn’t you ask me to get off early today, because you have a class at six?” Hoseok asked, brows furrowed slightly.

Changkyun looked down and nodded, “Yeah, but you were busy and I was a little afraid to ask, sooner.”

Waving the rag absently in Changkyun’s direction, Hoseok shooed the young man away, “Go to your class. You don’t need to ask me, if I’ve already told you that you can leave early, Changkyun. Just tell Hyungwon to leave me a message or something, if you can’t find me.”

The ash-haired boy nodded and thanked him before running to the back to grab his school bag and slung it over his shoulder before rushing out the doors of the café. It’s adorable and Hoseok just wished that the younger man paid a little more attention to his schooling, despite his full knowledge of Changkyun being a practical genius.

It doesn’t even take the young man a minute, before he turned on his heel and walked back into the café, peeking his head between the glass doors and peering at Hoseok, “Oh, and hyung? Hyungwon also told me to put up flyers in my school for the open mic, last week… we have one tonight, right?”

Eyes flicking to the calendar displayed on the counter, Hoseok nodded, “Yeah, we do. Now, please head to class before you’re late!”

Watching Changkyun’s sheepish smile and retreating back makes him grin in amusement for the rest of the hours he spends cleaning up the café and setting up the stage with Hyungwon. But, work is always consistent and days like these make it impossible to call work monotonous.

Nightfall comes to them as a crowd of customers file into the café. It’s Hoseok’s favourite sight, because watching business bloom in the small establishment which he’s dedicated his waking hours to makes him so happy. Their open mic hours are always exciting, because Hoseok is standing behind the bar and watching as brave clients walk from their seats at tables to the stage, sometimes with instruments of their own and sometimes asking Hyungwon to play them a song.

There are hidden talents all over Seoul City, he’s sure, because he hears their pretty voices flood through the open air of the café all the time. Sometimes, there are people who are a little too brave and they don’t realize that they aren’t the best of vocalists, but it’s all for humour sake that they end up listening through ear-shattering screeching into microphones.

Hyungwon has it the worst, because those were usually the people who insisted that he play them songs on the piano. Watching the handsome barista’s expression twist into disdain happened to be one of Hoseok’s guilty pleasures, though he would never admit that aloud; Hyungwon might hate him if he ever did.

There’s a pretty girl seated on a chair on the stage and she’s playing her guitar, sweet vocals ringing throughout the room and Hoseok is absently swaying to the sound of her voice while he wiped down the counters, careful hands cleaning up the nozzles of whipped cream which Hyungwon hated to clean. His concentration was snatched away from him when hands smack down on the granite surface of the counter, making a loud sound.

Changkyun withdrew his hands, wincing a little bit and shaking them to soothe the pain and Hoseok raised an eyebrow at the young man with a breathless laugh, “Did that hurt?”

“Of course it did,” the ash-haired boy replied, blowing hot air onto his hands. Hoseok rolled his eyes. “Hi!”

“You’re not scheduled for work until next week,” Hoseok told him, frowning a little bit as he resumed his work.

“I’m not here for work, hyung,” he said, “I coaxed my friend into coming here, because he’s a really good singer and he hates going to his classes.”

Hoseok paused, “You coaxed your friend into skipping class to come here? I’m not sure I condone that.”

Changkyun pouted at him, “Ah, c’mon, hyung. It’s his choice if he really didn’t want to come with me.”

“You’re using your workplace as a reason to get your friends out of getting an education, Changkyun,” the blond started, “Don’t you think that’s a little questionable?”

“ _Hyung_ ,” the younger man whined, “I’m not here for you to scold me. I’m trying to bless the world with music.”

Hoseok sighed, tossing the tissues into the bin. There’s that soft spot for Changkyun again, because Hoseok gave up trying to reason with the younger man. Changkyun looks so proud of the fact that he’s gotten his boss to shut up and Hoseok feels an urge to smack the younger man’s head, but he resists it.

Or at least, he’s distracted by the shuffling sound at the front of the room. He hadn’t noticed that the girl who had been singing earlier had made her way off of the stage and there was someone in her place. Hyungwon had stepped down from the stage and there was a young man in his place, trying to fix the wires connected to the piano keyboard with his back facing the audience.

Hoseok mentally reminded himself that he needed to tell Hyungwon to remember to turn off the microphone in-between stages to avoid the loud noises from disrupting the patrons of the café.

From the corner of his eye, he can see Changkyun’s eyes lighting up and he decides that it’s safe enough of an assumption to think that the boy on the stage was the friend whom Changkyun had brought with him to the café. The one who was skipping his classes to attend an open mic event, just a couple blocks away from his university.

“Um, hi,” the boy greeted into the microphone, when he finally seated himself in front of the piano and his speaking voice has Hoseok’s ears perking up in curiosity. It’s smooth and nice to listen to, despite the awkward sound of his tone. The secondary assumption of the boy is that it’s his first time speaking to a crowd. Changkyun probably talked him into it. “How are you all this evening?”

Some of the patrons offer him and absent remark and Changkyun wolf whistles at his friend from all the way across the room. The boy on the stage had the decency to blush and shoot the younger man a dirty look; Hoseok chuckled under his breath and his lips tugged into an amused smile.

As if sensing the slight tension in the room, though, the boy adjusted the microphone and glanced down at the piano. It looked as though he was giving himself a quick pep talk; he hesitated before pressing gentle fingers down against the keys and it’s the first few notes of an unfamiliar song to Hoseok’s ears.

It turns out to be a rearrangement of a some pop song which Hoseok has definitely heard somewhere throughout the city, but it isn’t as annoying as he’d thought the song initially was when he heard it in the middle of the streets. It’s so much softer and far from the original bubbly arrangement with catchy, repetitive lyrics. The boy’s voice, as Changkyun had promised, really is beautiful and Hoseok found himself unable to take his eyes off of the boy on the stage, despite the dim lighting and distance.

It’s love at first listen, he supposed, because the boy’s voice is so angelic and Hoseok swore he could write a thousand songs about that voice, and never get tired of it.

He performs two songs before he thanked the crowd and gave up the stage for someone else. Straightening out his clothing and fixing his glasses, the boy rushed off the stage and immediately towards where Hoseok was standing. It takes him a brief moment to realize that the boy was headed towards Changkyun, not him.

When he gets close enough for Hoseok to actually see his face, the blond mentally noted that the boy was rather endearing; his cheeks were stained a bright pink, likely from the nervousness or embarrassment of performing in front of a crowd. All Hoseok wanted to do was to praise him and tell him how amazing he had been, even though he hadn’t the slightest clue who the boy was.

The brunet ran directly into Changkyun’s open arms and buried his face into the younger man’s shoulder.

“Changkyun, I hate you,” he murmured, and Hoseok is still watching them.

The ash-haired boy grinned and wrapped his arms around the other, “Hyung, you did a great job! Everyone was clapping for you; I told you that you’d do amazing. Now, was I right or was I right?”

The boy didn’t answer, rather he hit Changkyun’s shoulder with a frown on his lips, but his eyes seemed to twinkle with pride. It’s as if he didn’t want to admit that Changkyun had been right all along, and Hoseok looked back down at the counter, picking up the small notepad and a pen, intending to total up the register for the day. Changkyun interrupted his movement, looking to him as if he’d noticed his boss was still standing there for the first time since his friend had approached them.

“Oh, by the way, Kihyun: this is my boss, Hoseok,” Changkyun started, gesturing to Hoseok, “Hoseok hyung, this is my friend, Kihyun.”

Turning to look at him, Kihyun offered a shy smile and he fixed his glasses a little bit.

What Hoseok doesn’t expect is to fall in love at first sight, too.

His mouth dropped open a little bit and he couldn’t help but stare. From this distance, he could make out every little detail of Kihyun’s face, even hidden behind his thick-framed glasses; the only thing suddenly running through his mind as a coherent thought is: _holy shit, Kihyun’s so cute._

And there’s this infuriating, smug grin on Changkyun’s lips. Hoseok doesn’t hit him for it.

“You did not tell me that your friend was hot,” Hoseok stated accusingly, when Changkyun walked into the café the next morning, leaning against the counter and asking his boss to make him a cup of coffee. Hoseok is glaring at the whipped cream on Changkyun’s frappe when he handed the drink over.

Changkyun grinned at him, “Who? Kihyun?”

Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, Hoseok shot the other man a glare. Changkyun only kept the serene smile on his lips, though it looked more taunting in Hoseok’s eyes than anything. Having a soft spot for the younger man certainly seemed to open him up for a lot more teasing, because he fell for every trap the young barista ever set up. Even Hyungwon thought it was ridiculous.

His reaction proved to be all Changkyun needed to confirm his statement and the young man’s lips curled into a wicked smile. Hoseok suddenly felt like curling into a ball behind the counter and hiding from anything and everything that could possibly find him and jab at him for having so quickly fallen for a stranger.

“I can ask him to come back and perform every single time there’s an open mic, if you want to see him again,” the younger man teased, and Hoseok could feel his cheeks heating up at the idea of seeing Kihyun again. “I don’t think he would really mind coming back to perform for you.”

It’s just a little embarrassing, because he could hardly even form a proper sentence during their first meeting. He’d spent the entire time staring at the pretty boy, and it seemed that Changkyun thought it was the funniest thing in the world. To Hoseok, it was far from such, but Changkyun’s sense of humour was strange to begin with.

Or at least, that’s what Hoseok told himself to make himself feel better.

“Don’t say it like that,” the blond scolded, “That sounds weird.”

Changkyun’s eyes gleamed with mischief, “Oh? Where’s your mind going, hyung?”

His ears are burning red and he could hardly believe that he’s letting someone he’d hardly spoken to affect him so harshly, but there was something about Kihyun that had his mind reeling. Thinking about the young man, despite only having seen him once, absently drew imaginary music notes across pages and pages in his head.

It might not even be too far of a stretch for him to think that maybe, he’s found a potential shot at a _muse._ But, it’s been entirely too long since he’d picked up any of his composition books, and he doubted that being hopelessly infatuated by a practical stranger was going to keep his musical inspiration running for very long. It’s a little disappointing, but Hoseok liked to think of the more realistic aspects: music was already something he’d given up on.

But, this _Kihyun_ made him want to fall back into that world.

He doesn’t even realize that he hadn’t responded to Changkyun’s inquiry, but the ash-haired man had his elbow rested against the elevated surface of the counter, lips twisted into a grin.

“You know, I don’t think you were obvious enough for him to realize that you’ve got a huge thing for him,” the younger assured, but it doesn’t settle Hoseok’s mind in the slightest. In fact, it made his cheeks burn; he could hardly believe that at twenty-three years of age, here he was: blushing like a teenage girl over the thought of having embarrassed himself in front of someone he was apparently obviously crushing on.

“I don’t have a thing for him!” Hoseok insisted.

“ _Right_ , you just think he’s hot and you space out whenever I mention his name, because you’re totally not fantasizing about maybe taking him out on a date or something,” Changkyun grinned, “Sure, whatever you say, _boss_.”

Hoseok grit his teeth and shot a glare at the younger man, but Changkyun is grabbing his cup of coffee and backing out of the café with a cheeky smile on his lips.

“Hey, you didn’t pay for your coffee, yet!” Hoseok called after the younger man.

Changkyun laughed, waving to Hoseok and taking a sip from the straw, “Take it out of my paycheck!”

(And Hoseok would never tell Changkyun that he actually ends up spending the rest of the day actually daydreaming about a certain bright-eyed brunet.)

Whether or not Changkyun really meant it when he’d told Hoseok that he was going to _tell_ Kihyun to come back to the café and sing, the young man does end up coming back to the café. It’s on a day that they don’t have an open mic, so Hoseok is a little surprised to see him. Shyly, Kihyun had peered over the counter and asked the blond if they had a physical menu, because he couldn’t see the menu posted behind Hoseok.

And Hoseok felt himself being unable to control the small smile on his lips. He’d recite their entire menu for the young man, if they didn’t have a physical menu. But, they do, so Hoseok bends down and pulls out the rarely used, laminated sheets and placed it on the counter for the young man.

Kihyun gratefully smiled at him and he melts a little bit.

He took a moment to decide, but there isn’t a line behind him, so there wasn’t a need for him to hurry up. Hoseok pretended to be busy pressing buttons on the small computer behind the counter, but he’s focused on the pretty boy from the corner of his eye. Kihyun pursed his lips and furrowed his brows adorably when he focused on the menu, and Hoseok feels his heart racing in his chest.

He’s never believed in love at first sight, but he thinks there’s a possibility that this might be it.

Kihyun quietly orders a simple latte, but he tips Hoseok generously when he pays.

“That menu doesn’t look like it’s ever been used,” he told him, quietly. “Thank you for letting me use it.”

And somehow, Hoseok feels like he wants to hold the smaller man in his arms and never let him go.

For a stranger, it’s quite weird, but he simply couldn’t help the way his heart pounded in his chest.

Kihyun does come back to the café to sing. He ends up showing up to every single open mic and he always has unique arrangements to share with the crowd. The regular customers enjoy listening to the young man’s voice and Hoseok couldn’t be any happier that the owner of the café had initially brought up the idea of holding open mics. It might be a little far of a stretch, but everything happened for a reason and Hoseok couldn’t imagine meeting Kihyun had all the open mics not existed.

Every single time that Kihyun steps on the stage, he looks out to the crowd in search of Changkyun. Hoseok supposed that they were close enough for the young man to be Kihyun’s pillar of support. He’d been the one to have talked Kihyun into singing in front of a crowd. Hoseok would imagine that Changkyun was an avid fan of Kihyun’s singing and lavished him with all the compliments Hoseok wished he was brave enough to voice.

So, instead of openly complimenting the younger man on everything he admired, Hoseok found himself finally picking up his composition book after years of ignoring it, flipping open to a random page and drawing out the melodies which his mind developed whenever he thought of the young man.

At some point, when he’s sitting in the crowd and watching Kihyun sing next to Changkyun pretending to be busy on his phone when he was actually drafting out a bunch of lyrics, Hoseok can’t deny that Yoo Kihyun might actually be his muse to continue on with music.

Since meeting the young man, just a couple weeks prior, Hoseok had filled out the remainder of the composition book he’d abandoned after dropping out of university. Seventeen pages of songs dedicated to someone whom he couldn’t even summon the courage to speak to.

It’s one hell of a feat.

And he still doesn’t know how to _really_ approach Kihyun.

“Hyungwon,” Hoseok called his co-worker, a little hesitant. The other man looked up from where he was trying to perfectly slice a cake for the display.

“Hmm?”

“Do you believe in soulmates?”

Putting the knife down and raising an eyebrow, Hyungwon made a face at him, “Hoseok, if this is about that boy you keep fawning over, then I don’t even know what to tell you.”

Hoseok shook his head, “I’m just asking you if you believe in soulmates!”

“Hoseok, I’ve worked with you in this café for over five years. And I think you forget that I’m good friends with Changkyun,” Hyungwon retorted, “He tells me everything. This is definitely about his friend, because you never talk about lovey dovey things, and don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’ve only started after you met that boy.”

The blond made to insist otherwise, but Hyungwon clicked his tongue.

“You literally look at him with hearts in your eyes, _shut up_.”

Pouting, the older man returned to stacking a new set of cups behind the counter. There was a moment of silence, and Hyungwon was back to cutting the cakes and slipping them into the glass display, when Hoseok interrupted his concentration again.

“But, _do_ you believe in soulmates?”

_ “Hoseok, I swear to fucking God.” _

Forgetting about all the soulmate stuff that he actually spends a majority of his time thinking about, Hoseok actually finds the courage to talk to Kihyun on a day that the young man comes into the café without Changkyun by his side. The blond supposed that after a certain amount of time, he’d found the courage to perform in front of a crowd without needing his friend to support him the entire time. Truthfully, Hoseok would be that support for him if he just knew how to tell the younger man that he adored the rhythmic sound of his voice.

Whatever it is, though, Hoseok found his voice to speak around the younger man when Changkyun wasn’t there to mischievously smirk at him, when he so much as glanced at the pretty boy. It might also help that Hyungwon wasn’t working and everything played out in Hoseok’s favour, because he isn’t entirely too shy when he didn’t have an audience who would undoubtedly make fun of him for the rest of his life, if he screwed up.

It’s mid-February when Hoseok finally finds that courage, though.

Talking to Kihyun comes as a casual inquiry——or at least, he tries his best to make it sound natural. It was probably the smartest move to use music as a cue for conversation, because at least it was something he knew they were both interested in, as a fact.

“Do you write all the rearrangements by yourself?” he asked, approaching the young man as he stepped off the stage.

Kihyun looked surprised to see Hoseok talking to him, but the expression is adorable on his face. Hoseok took a breath, offering a small smile.

“If you do, that’s really amazing,” Hoseok added, “But, even if you don’t, then it’s still really cool.”

The smaller boy averted his eyes shyly, looking down at the ground and avoiding Hoseok’s eyes, as if he wasn’t used to receiving praise from strangers. Kihyun adjusted the strap of the messenger bag slung over his shoulder and he nodded slightly. Hoseok might not have noticed, had he not been patiently paying attention to the details of Kihyun’s actions.

“I do,” he replied, quietly. Under the dim light, Hoseok can see the slight flush on Kihyun’s expression and he can’t help but think that it might be the cutest thing he’s ever seen. “Thank you. I’m really happy that you enjoy them.”

“Your voice is really amazing too,” Hoseok added, without really thinking. The compliments just seemed so natural and they slipped out from between his lips without the slightest hesitation. He just hoped Kihyun wouldn’t think of him as a little creepy, because his heart might just break at the idea.

Kihyun smiles at him, though; the corners of his lips curling up into a shy smile and his eyes flicker to meet with Hoseok’s. He looks proud, and Hoseok knows he’s said the right thing.

The young man adjusted his glasses, coughing into his fist quietly, as if trying to shake off the burst of pride.

“Thank you,” he answered. “That really means a lot to me.”

And Hoseok is stuck staring at the beauty of the young man’s smile.

Kihyun is checking his watch and there’s a flash of panic on his visage before he excused himself and rushed out of the café. Hoseok stays standing still and watching his retreating back with a dull sense of disappointment thrumming in the pit of his stomach, hidden somewhere beneath the fluttering butterflies which had been tormenting him since the moment he’d opened his mouth to talk to Yoo Kihyun.

He hardly knows him, but he’s already fallen a little too far. He supposed that was simply the effect that a _muse_ had; because, that night, Hoseok spends a restless night in his apartment, writing songs about sweet smiles and blushing cheeks, until he falls asleep at his desk.

Kihyun comes back to the café the next morning, and he looks like he’s planning on staying for a little while. The brunet placed a stack of papers, his laptop and a textbook on one of the tables, shrugging his messenger bag off of his body and slinging it over the back of the chair. He’s headed to the front desk, eyes in search of something. Maybe, someone.

And had Hoseok been at the front of the café, he might have hoped that Kihyun was looking for him. But, Hyungwon was standing at the front of the store, because Hoseok was busy restocking the shelves in the kitchen, just before his break.

There was a flash of disappointment on Kihyun’s expression, but he buries his face a little deeper into the scarf still wrapped around his neck and he approached the counter, anyway. Recognition bloomed on Hyungwon’s visage, though and he offered the young man a rare smile.

“Hi, how can I help you?” Hyungwon asked, as the brunet approached the counter and Kihyun cleared his throat, pulling the scarf down a little to speak.

“Can I just get an extra-large latte, with a little bit extra espresso, please?”

Hyungwon nodded, turning to grab a cup from behind the counter and he pursed his lips, scribbling down Kihyun’s name without asking. If Kihyun noticed, then he didn’t comment on it.

And at that exact moment, Hoseok walked out from the back and Kihyun’s eyes brightened at the sight of the blond. From the corner of his eye, Hyungwon noted the expression on the young man’s face and he chuckled lightly, turning to make his coffee. The barista grinned wickedly at Hoseok when they made eye contact. Hoseok looked past his co-worker and he’s suddenly feeling the butterflies, again.

It’s only reassurance that he has it bad.

“Oh, Hoseok,” Hyungwon started, dramatically loud. “Don’t you have your break, now? You’ve been working all day without a break.”

He hasn’t been working all day without a break; his last break had been just an hour and a half ago. He’s about to object the remark, unsure of what Hyungwon was trying to get at, but Hyungwon glares at him a little bit and Hoseok sees this flicker of concern in Kihyun’s eyes, when he looks at him. And suddenly, everything makes sense.

Hoseok cleared his throat, unsure of what he’s supposed to say, so he awkwardly makes the report on what they actually need in the kitchen, “Uh, we need to make more cake icing, so I can’t take my break yet. I’d make Changkyun do it, because he’s the best at that, but he’s not here.”

Hyungwon fixed him with a dissatisfied expression at his response, “Do it quickly and go take your break, then.”

The taller man turned and slid the cup of coffee over to Kihyun and flashed him a smile, telling him his total. When Kihyun turns to head back to the table he’d taken over, the barista nudged Hoseok aggressively in the side. The blond winced at the act of violence and pouted at his co-worker.

“You were supposed to say something like, _oh yeah, I should take my break now_ ,” Hyungwon hissed at him, “But, now you can’t just go take your break and go talk to the love of your life. Go make icing, you shit.”

Hoseok looked at him, expression feigning hurt as he retreated back into the kitchen.

Thankfully, by the time that Hoseok is finished making icing and his fingers are no longer sticky with sugar syrup, Kihyun is still sitting at the table. Hyungwon pushes Hoseok towards the young man and it’s terribly nerve-wracking, because Hyungwon didn’t understand how difficult it was to express his feelings to someone. Not that Hyungwon was actually asking to go up to Kihyun and confess his terribly embarrassing crush, or anything.

That would be bad.

So, with his head somewhere in the clouds, Hoseok prays that everything would go smoothly when he approached Kihyun’s table and bent down next to the young man with a small smile on his lips.

“Hi,” he greeted, awkwardly. Kihyun looked up from where he was working on some sort of spreadsheet and he smiled at Hoseok, lightly.

“Hi,” he answered, nodding his head a little.

He’d taken off his scarf and Hoseok can see more of his face, even though the brunet kept his cup of coffee just under his visage and the steam from the cup was slowly fogging up his glasses. Kihyun didn’t seem to really notice it.

The blond lingered by the younger man’s side for a moment and Kihyun stopped typing, turning to look at Hoseok again, “Would you like to have a seat? You’re on your break, right?”

And the blond heaved a sigh of relief, in his mind, thankful that he didn’t need to ask, before Kihyun made the offer. He could hardly put words into a proper sentence in his mind, and he’s slowly withering away from the pressure of _wanting to have a civil conversation with Kihyun without hating himself_. Kihyun kicked the opposing chair out a little and smiled at him. It’s the shy smile that Hoseok’s grown to adore.

“Yeah, I’m on my break,” he replied, moving to take a seat.

There’s a moment of silence between them, because Hoseok doesn’t really know what should come after saying _hi_ to the person who has been the object of his affection for the past month and a half.

Thankfully, it seems that the student knew how to carry on conversations, because when he realized that Hoseok wasn’t going to be striking a conversation with him and was just going to be awkwardly sitting across from him, Kihyun’s eyes moved from his laptop to meet Hoseok’s. It’s in that moment that Hoseok is caught staring, and he looked away, flushing in slight embarrassment.

“The other barista said that you haven’t taken any breaks all day,” Kihyun started, voice quiet. “It’s almost two in the afternoon, and Changkyun told me that this place opens at six in the morning. That’s a whole shift without a break.”

Hoseok thinks Kihyun might be scolding him for something that isn’t exactly true, but he fiddled with his fingers, suddenly feeling bad about having given the younger man such an impression. Kihyun’s fingers carded through his light brown locks of hair and he pursed his lips in a slight frown. Hoseok thinks he’s a lot prettier with the smile on his face.

“You shouldn’t do that,” Kihyun frowned, brows furrowed slightly in what Hoseok thinks is genuine thought. “Does Changkyun know you do that? He wouldn’t be happy. He hardly lets _me_ stay up past midnight on a weekend.”

Sighing, Hoseok shook his head and pressed his lips into an awkward smile, “No, he doesn’t. I think he would kill me if he knew, honestly.”

It’s good to know that Changkyun was exactly the same no matter where he was. Hoseok would never forget the one day that Changkyun stayed up until midnight and called Hoseok to ensure the older man was already in bed and planning to sleep, after a particularly long and stressful day at work. It’s a good conversation starter, it seemed, because there was a smile on Kihyun’s lips and he arched his brows in amusement.

“Kill you?” Kihyun repeated, pushing his laptop slightly to the side and lowering the screen a little bit. It looked as though he was giving up on his work in favour of talking to Hoseok. It works wonders on the level of happiness in Hoseok’s heart.

“Doesn’t he ever threaten to strangle you and put you to sleep that way, if you don’t willingly sleep before midnight?” Hoseok asked, recalling the phone call he’d experienced with the young man, just weeks after he’d been hired. Lim Changkyun was certainly one hell of a unique person; Hoseok could hardly believe that he’d thought Changkyun was shy when he first met him.

Kihyun’s lips curled into a smile and he nodded, “Okay, that sounds exactly like him.”

They end up spending the next two hours talking to one another, and Hyungwon doesn’t seem to mind because he doesn’t step away from the counter to remind Hoseok that his break was long over. Instead, he just watched the older man with a grin from behind the counter. Hoseok doesn’t notice it at all, because he’s busy listening to Kihyun tell him about his life.

It turns out that Kihyun is a third year business student who hated his major with a burning passion, because he’d much rather do music. It had been his parents’ choice to enroll him into a school for business, and when Changkyun (his roommate, Hoseok learned) had told him about the open mic, he had been thrilled to go. Changkyun refused to accompany him on the stage during their first day and Kihyun had been angry at him for a while, because he was unsure of how to perform in front of a crowd without someone right beside him.

The story isn’t what Hoseok would have expected, but he knew so little about Yoo Kihyun that he couldn’t have made a reasonable assumption to begin with.

Kihyun admits, with a cheeky smile, that he’d skipped class on every single day that they hosted open mics in order to sit on the stage and perform, instead of attending his lectures. Hoseok furrowed his brows and scolded him for it, but Kihyun seemed to have shed his shyness; simply stuck his tongue out at the blond. Hoseok thinks he’s the cutest thing in the entire world.

And then Kihyun is asking him about himself: they manage to figure out that Kihyun is just a year younger than him and he tells Kihyun about how he dropped out of university, and they would have been attending the same school, if he stayed. The brunet had laughed quietly behind a hand and teasingly asked him to imagine them meeting in a lecture hall instead of having met in a café.

It’s a joke, but Hoseok actually does imagine Kihyun diligently copying down notes in a large lecture hall. He sees himself meeting the young man once, and then having his eyes drawn to wherever Kihyun sat, for all of the following days they share a class; thinks about how he would probably still be admiring the younger man from a distance, terribly unsure of how to approach the object of his affection. He doesn’t say it aloud, but he lets a small smile dance across his lips. Kihyun had such an effect on him.

Hoseok is finishing off a story about the worst customer he’s ever had to deal with in the café, when Kihyun checked his watch and panicked because it was suddenly almost five in the afternoon and he hadn’t made the slightest bit of progress on his assignment. Excusing himself, Kihyun escaped the café with an apology and Hoseok watches his retreating back leave through the glass doors.

Hyungwon is almost immediately by his side, grinning wickedly.

“Alright, lover boy,” the barista started, “Get back to work, I need to take a break.”

And Hoseok doesn’t even mind the rude tone, because he feels like he’s floating on clouds.

_ Kihyun had a serious effect on him. _

They develop their relationship as friends through random meetings and casual conversations when Kihyun stops by the café. Hoseok spends all of his free time filling out more of his composition books with music notes. And on one of the days that Hoseok knows they aren’t going to be busy, he swallows his pride and accepts the fact that he’s finally fallen back in love with music and he had a drive to compose, again.

By the end of February, Hoseok has mentally composed enough music to at least try and play it; maybe fix some things that don’t sound as amazing as they should. He brings his guitar to the café, and plays it on his breaks: he’s not brave enough to sit on the stage, because he’s just practicing, but the regular patrons enjoy listening to the music he plays. Sometimes, they laugh at him when he swears under his breath, because he’s messed up a chord when he’d been playing perfectly for hours.

Even on days when the owner of the café comes to watch over the place and Hoseok doesn’t actually need to be there at all, the blond found himself seated somewhere in the café and playing his guitar. The old man looked entirely too thrilled to see the twenty-three year old finally investing himself in music again. Hoseok doesn’t ever tell him that he’d found his inspiration through the pretty boy who often visited him in the café at random hours of the day.

It’s one of those days that the café is almost completely empty again; Hoseok is sitting at one of the small tables off in a secluded corner of the café, his guitar laying in the booth next to him and his lips are twisted in concentration as he penciled little lyrical notes where the notes were. Hoseok never thought of himself as very much of a singer, but he always felt that every one of his compositions needed lyrics to go with them.

(He’s still kind of dreaming that maybe one day, he could get the love of his life to sing the songs he’s written about him. And it’s hopeful thinking, but he can’t help it.)

Kihyun sneaked up behind him and playfully blew a stream of air against his ear——Hoseok jumped, a sound of surprise ripping from his throat in a high-pitched shriek. And the pretty boy is doubling over in laughter, burying his face into his scarf, cheeks red from the cold and from laughing at Hoseok.

“Hi there,” Kihyun greeted, slipping into the booth, across from Hoseok. His eyes are sparking with amusement and he rested his chin in his palm, elbow on the table and he tilted his head a little, studying the way Hoseok’s pencil moved across the piece of paper.

“You scared the shit out of me,” Hoseok breathed, looking at Kihyun accusingly.

The brunet only smiled serenely at him, “I know. What are you doing?”

Hoseok can’t even pretend to be angry at Kihyun. Sighing, he scribbled a little note onto the corner of the piece of paper and he looked up at Kihyun, tongue digging into the inside of his cheek as he tried to find his words. “I’m writing a song, but I can’t find the words to make this sound right.”

“Can I help?” Kihyun asked, shifting to try and peer at what Hoseok was writing.

Flushing, Hoseok shook his head a little bit, trying to hide the sheet, “Um, I’m not sure...”

The younger man tilted his head a little bit, a mischievous smile on his lips and he arched a teasing brow.

“Why are you hiding it?” Kihyun asked, teasingly, “Are you writing a song about me, and you don’t want me to see it yet, because it’s not perfect?”

It’s just a joke, but Hoseok’s eyes widened and he panicked, because it was amazing how a joke could have been so completely accurate. Cheeks flushed, Hoseok shook his head, but he stammered and completely gave himself away. Kihyun was shy and adorably mischievous, but that didn’t mean that he was dumb.

The young brunet’s eyes widened a little bit and his mouth formed an o-shape and he blinked at Hoseok.

“Are you really?” he asked, unable to mask the surprise in his voice.

Fiddling with his pencil, Hoseok cleared his throat and shifted his eyes away from Kihyun’s visage and trying to avoid the inevitable awkwardness as he admitted to doing exactly what Kihyun thought he was doing. He’s never actually thought about confessing that he was writing songs about the younger man, even if Kihyun didn’t know the contents of the song. And he could say something teasing about how he was writing songs about how Kihyun was _so annoying_ , but it would be entirely too obviously a lie.

For Heaven’s sake, Hoseok was blushing and terribly shy at the fact that the younger had him figured out. It’s too obvious that the song was something far from a teasing joke which prodded at all possible silly aspects of their friendship. The blond’s sure that the red on his cheeks is making him look ridiculous.

“... Yeah,” he mumbled, chewing on his lower lip.

But, Kihyun is blushing too and he’s shrinking into his scarf, shyly but his eyes are still on Hoseok. His voice is quiet and he’s obviously smiling, even though Hoseok can’t see it. “That’s... that’s really _cute_.”

Despite how obvious the feelings might be, Kihyun doesn’t actually say anything about Hoseok’s feelings for him. But, the younger man was bound to know, because everyone around him swore that it couldn’t be any more obvious. And considering Kihyun was Changkyun’s roommate? It would be a miracle if the barista hadn’t already told Kihyun all about the times where Hoseok spaces out and daydreams about him.

The younger man gets really busy, though and Hoseok’s heart breaks a little because he doesn’t get to see him as often anymore. He sees the young man sometimes walk past the café after his classes are over, when he’s headed home, but Kihyun doesn’t have the time to stop by for a coffee or a short conversation. And Hoseok can’t exactly leave the establishment to go and have a quick conversation with him.

It’s a little bit upsetting, but they have an open mic coming up and Hoseok is hoping that Kihyun was going to attend that. He wouldn’t even be ashamed of telling the young man that he missed him, at this point. A week has passed since the last time they had a conversation, and Kihyun had told him that the following weeks were going to be terribly busy for him. Hoseok, as someone who was once a student at the same school, knew the struggle of it at this time of the year. It still didn’t help the sadness he feels, somewhere in his heart.

Luck happened to be on his side, though.

While he was locking up the doors of the café and shivering from the frigidity outside, wishing he’d been smart enough to buy a thicker coat for the winter, he’s practically attacked by Kihyun’s small frame.

“Hoseok!” Kihyun breathed, his name falling from the young man’s lips as a puff of smoke from the cold. Kihyun’s all wrapped up in his scarf and he has a hood pulled over his head; the first thing Hoseok notices, though, is the fact that Kihyun isn’t wearing his glasses and he looks so much cuter without them.

“Hey,” Hoseok answered, placing a hand over his chest and inhaling sharply. The sudden presence of the young man when he was just thinking about him shocked the blond, and he took a moment to register the fact that Kihyun was standing in front of him.

“I thought I’d run into you,” Kihyun said, smiling lightly. He’s digging through his messenger bag and then he’s pulling a scarf out of the bag. Hoseok stared at him in confusion, “I pass by the café every day and I’ve noticed that you have a really thin coat, and you never seem to wear a scarf. I don’t know if it’s because you don’t like them or not, but I’m a little bit concerned about your health. You’re going to freeze to death.”

The blond blinked, and Kihyun shoved the scarf into his hands, nodding his head. “I don’t care if you like them or not, but you’re going to die of hypothermia and that’s going to make me sad, so you’re going to put this on for me.”

Hoseok hesitated and Kihyun’s lips twisted into a small pout. He unwound the scarf as Hoseok stood there, staring at him blankly and he draped the scarf around the taller man’s shoulders, gently wrapping it around his neck. Kihyun is really close to him, and Hoseok is forgetting about the fact that it’s freezing outside, because his cheeks are warming up; butterflies escaping into his stomach, again.

He cleared his throat, when he finally caught hold of reality, again. “Thank you...”

Kihyun smiled at him.

There’s always this moment in between the fleeting seconds that they step closer to one another, because they’re staring at one another in silence again. It’s a comfortable silence, but Hoseok snaps out of it when Kihyun shivers as a breeze blows past them.

“You live that way, right?” Hoseok asked, quietly. Kihyun nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets in an attempt to keep himself warm. An absent part of Hoseok’s mind wants to hold the younger man’s hand and keep him warm. “I can walk you home,” he offered, “It’s on the way.”

It’s a lie. He lives in the other direction, but he’d much rather spend a little bit more time with the young man. It’s been a little too long since they’ve been able to see one another, and Hoseok is just acting on his little crush on the young man. He doesn’t think that Kihyun would really mind his accompanying him on the way home.

“Really?” Kihyun asked, tilting his head a little bit. It’s adorable.

Hoseok nodded, stepping backwards and motioning for the younger man to follow him. He doesn’t know the exact location of Kihyun’s place, but he does know the general direction of where he lives, because Changkyun had explained it to him before (in the middle of the awkward job interview, when Hoseok asked him if he lived nearby for the sake of planning the shifts, if Changkyun were hired).

Kihyun’s following him closely, and then they’re walking side by side.

They make it to the younger man’s place, mostly in silence, because Kihyun is too busy dodging ice patches on the sidewalk to actually talk to him, but he doesn’t really mind. He’s mentally preparing to catch the younger man if he falls, anyway. But, the walk to Kihyun’s place doesn’t take very long at all.

They’re at the younger man’s doorstep before Hoseok can even realize that they’ve made it to their destination. It feels like it’s been too short of a time period spent with Kihyun, but maybe it’s just his mind that kind of wanted to spend eternities by the younger man’s side.

So, with his hands shoved in his pockets, Hoseok watched as Kihyun fumbled with his key and prepared to bid the younger goodbye and head home. It catches him by surprise when Kihyun pushes the door open and grabs onto his arm, smiling a little bit at him from behind his scarf.

“Come in for a bit,” Kihyun insisted, tugging onto Hoseok’s hands.

The blond’s heart skipped a beat and he obliged.

They’re standing inside, where it’s much warmer; Kihyun shut the door behind them.

“Changkyun told me you live in the other direction, you know,” Kihyun said, lips curling into a small smile.

Clearing his throat, Hoseok bit down on his lower lip, a little bit embarrassed, “Changkyun wasn’t supposed to rat me out, like that.”

Kihyun’s laughing as he’s taking his boots off and unwinding his scarf from around his neck. Still wearing his boots, when Kihyun stepped out of his shoes, Hoseok notices a significant change in their height difference. Kihyun looks so much smaller. Cuter. More endearing, if it were really possible.

“You just have to tell me, if you want to walk me home,” Kihyun chimed, playfully. Hoseok nudged him, pursing his lips into a pout. Kihyun only smiles innocently at him.

What he hadn’t been expecting was for Kihyun to pull his gloves off of his hands and move a little closer to him, placing both of his hands pressed against Hoseok’s cheeks. They’re freezing cold.

“Are my hands cold?” Kihyun asked, laughing softly.

Hoseok nodded, shivering at the touch.

“You’re freezing,” he replied, “Weren’t you wearing gloves?”

“I was,” Kihyun nodded, stepping a little closer. His right hand tugged the edge of Hoseok’s scarf down, and he’s smiling a little bit. Hoseok’s breath catches in the back of his throat.

“What are you doing?” he asked, quietly. Kihyun shrugged, tugging at the scarf and letting mischievous eyes flicker up to meet the blond’s.

“Hm... what am I doing?” he hummed, “I don’t know, really...”

But, he clearly knows exactly what he’s doing and he has Hoseok’s heart racing in his chest, when he steps onto the tips of his toes and presses his lips gently against Hoseok’s. It lasts several fleeting, heart-fluttering moments, but then Kihyun’s pulling away with a small smile on his lips, eyes twinkling with amusement.

Hoseok’s suddenly forgetting how to breathe; eyes wide as he stared at Kihyun. The younger man is adjusting his scarf again, tugging it up to cover his mouth with a sly smile on his lips.

“Stay warm out there,” Kihyun whispered. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He can’t find his words, but he thinks that Kihyun understands, because he winks playfully at him and gently pushes him towards the door.

Hoseok walks home with his body burning with warmth spreading through his chest, endearment flooding his heart, butterflies exploding in his stomach and his head in the clouds.

And he couldn’t have felt any warmer, in the middle of the winter air.

**Author's Note:**

> dedicating this to elena.  
> comments are always appreciated! & as always, find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/yuseokki)!


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